English II Common Core Concepts

AFFIX • Either a prefix or suffix added to a base or root word ALLEGORY • The use of characters or events to represent ideas or principles in a story, play, or picture. A form of extended metaphor. ALLITERATION • Alliteration is repeating the same consonant sound at the beginning of several words in a sentence. (The dog dove into the water while chasing the flying Frisbee.) ALLUSION • An allusion is a reference to something commonly known (If it continues to rain, we will have to build an ark.) ANALOGY • An analogy shows the relationship between two things • Example: inside: outside:: up: down • This is how you read this analogy: inside is to outside as up is to down. • The single colon stands for is to. The double colon stands for as. ANECDOTE • A brief story about an interesting, amusing, or strange event, which is told to entertain or to make a point ANTAGONIST • A character or force in conflict with a main character; a villain ANTONYMS • Antonyms are words that are the same part of speech and have opposite or almost opposite meanings (hot/cold) AUTHOR’S PURPOSE • Entertain: the author tells a personal or fictional story that is based on read or imaginary events • Persuade: the author lets the readers know how he/she thinks about the subject or tried to talk the reading into thinking like the author thinks. • Inform: the author give information about a subject • Explain: the author helps the readers understand a subject • Teach: the author gives directions on how to do something • Describe: the author paints with words a picture of a person, place, event, or item BALLAD • A songlike poem that tells a story, often one dealing with adventures or romance BASE WORD • A base word is the main part of a word without any prefixes or suffixes (unhappy=happy) BLANK VERSE • Poetry written in unrhymed iambic pentameter lines CHARACTERIZATION • The methods an author uses to create and develop a character o Direct Characterization: the author directly states a character’s traits o Indirect Characterization: the author tells what a character looks like, does, and says, and how other characters react to him/her CONFLICT • A struggle between opposing forces o External: a character struggles against an outside force (man vs man; man vs nature; man vs society) o Internal: a character struggles against himself/herself (man vs self; man vs society) CONNOTATION • Connotation refers to the beyond-the-surface meaning that a word suggests or implies (Example: use home instead of house or a warmer connotation) COUPLET • A pair of rhyming lines, usually of the same length and meter, which generally express an idea DIALECT • The form of a language spoken by people in a particular group or region (“And I will love thee still, my dear/ Till the seas go dry” DIALOGUE • A conversation between characters, used to reveal character and to advance action DICTION • Word choice (vocabulary used, appropriateness of the words, vividness of language, etc.) EULOGY • A dignified, formal speech or writing, praising a person or thing EUPHEMISM • A euphemism is an agreeable word or phrase used in place of a more harsh or rude one (restroom instead of toilet) FACT • A statement that can be proven to be true. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE • Writing or speech not meant to be interpreted literally; often used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things FLASHBACK • A section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time FORESHADOWING • The use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur GENRE • Genre is the name used to identify types of literature (realistic fiction, fantasy, folktale/fairytale, science fiction, poetry, drama, nonfiction, real-world training, biography, autobiography, letter) HYPERBOLE • A hyperbole is also called an exaggeration. It is the stretching of the truth to show strong feelings or a humorous effect. (I ate so much dessert that I gained a hundred pounds.) IDIOM • An idiom is a group of words or a phrase that has a hidden meaning. You can’t understand the meaning of an idiom by what the words literally say (It is raining cats and dogs.) IMAGERY • Imagery is description that appeals to the senses. (dry leaves crunching underfoot like broken glass) INFERENCE (THE PASSAGE DOESN’T SAY) • Sometimes an author doesn’t tell the reader everything in a selection. The reader needs to put together the words from the selection with what he/she already knows to understand a selection. You infer information. Some people call this “reading between the lines.” IRONY • A literary technique that involves differences between appearance and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention o Verbal irony: words that are used to suggest the opposite of the literal meaning o Dramatic irony: a contradiction exists between what a character thinks and what the audience knows to be true o Situational irony: an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience KEY WORDS • Key words are important words in a story or selection and help you understand a selection. They are most often nouns or verbs. You should highlight the key words to help you remember where they are in the selection. You will use key words to write your summary. MAIN IDEA • The main idea is the subject and the most important thing about the subject. Sometimes the author doesn’t tell you the main idea and you must figure it out. Do these steps to find the main idea: o Look at the first sentence of the selection. o Look at the last sentence of the selection o Read the rest of the selection. METAPHOR • A figure of speech in which one thing is spoken of as though it were something else; states a comparison directly MONOLOGUE • A speech by one character in a play, story, or poem MOOD • The mood refers to the prevailing atmosphere or feeling of a selection (sad, happy, fearful, comfortable, etc.) NARRATOR • A speaker or character who tells a story; may be either a character in the story or an outside observer; the writer’s choice of narrator determines the story’s point of view o First person: a character tells the story’s point of view o Third person: a voice outside the story tells the story Omniscient: all-knowing narrator; can tell what any character thinks or feels Limited: sees the world through one character’s eyes and reveals only that character’s thoughts OBJECTIVE • Information that is unbiased and based on the facts ONOMATOPOEIA • The use of words that imitate sounds (buzz, whack, etc.) OPINION • Tells the author’s thoughts about a subject PARADOX • A statement that seems contradictory or absurd but that expresses a truth PARAPHRASE • When you paraphrase a statement, you restate it using your own words and your own sentence structure. PERSONIFICATION • Personification is giving human characteristics to inanimate objects (The daffodils danced in the breeze.) PERSUASION • Writing or speech that attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular opinion or course of action o Pathos: uses emotion to sway the reader o Ethos: uses the credibility of the speaker to sway the reader o Logos: uses facts and statistics to sway the reader POINT OF VIEW • First Person: The story is told by one of the characters. • Third Person: The story is told by a narrator not in the story. The narrator may know the thoughts and feelings of one or more of the characters. PREFIX • A prefix is the letter or group of letter put at the beginning of a base or root word to change the word’s meaning. (un + happy= unhappy) PROSE • The ordinary form of written language; writing that is not poetry, drama, or song is considered prose PROTAGONIST • The main character in a literary work REPETITION • The use, more than once, of any element of language RHETORICAL QUESTION • A rhetorical question is a question meant to make a point, not to be answered (What’s the point of having the rule if it isn’t enforced?) ROOT • A root is the part of the word that carries the most meaning. Many common roots come from Greek and Latin. (mar=sea Marine life live in the sea.) SATIRE • A style of writing that uses humor to criticize people, ideas, or institutions in hopes of improving them SENSORY LANGUAGE • Writing or speech that appeals to one or more of the five senses SETTING • The setting is where and when the selection takes place. It can be real or imaginary and includes historical periods, a specific year, seasons, or time of day; place may involve not only the geographical place but also the social, economic or cultural environment SIMILE • A figure of speech in which “like” or “as” is used to make a comparison between two basically unlike subjects SUBJECTIVE • Information that reflects the speaker’s opinion and can’t be proven with concrete facts SUBJECT OF A SELECTION • Look at the first sentence • Look for any repeated words or names • Read the selection a second time SUFFIX • A suffix is the letter or group of letters put at the end of a word (quick+ ly=quickly) SUMMARY • A summary is a short retelling of the main ideas or events of a selection and must be written in your own words. Never copy sentences from the selection when writing a summary. • Write three or four sentences for a summary and use key words you have identified that show the main idea of the passage. • When writing about literature, remember to write in the present tense and use strong action verbs whenever possible. SUSPENSE • A growing sense of uncertainty that keeps us on the edge of our seats and pervades the entire piece SYMBOL • Any object or representation that stands for or represents something else SYNONYMS • Synonyms are words that are the same part of speech and have the same or almost the same meaning. (small, tiny; large, big) TENSION • Stress that is introduced into a manuscript at various points in the story to keep the reader intrigued; it takes many forms and is not constant THEME • A central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work which can be stated directly or implied THESIS • A thesis is the author’s central argument or point. TITLES • The title should hint at what the selection is about. • The first and last words should always begin with a capital letter. • All important words should begin with capital letters. • Articles and prepositions don’t need to be capitalized unless they are the first or last word of the title. TONE • Tone is the author’s attitude toward his or her subject matter and/or audience (approval, pride, resentment, amusement, etc.) TYPE OF WRITING • Descriptive: presents a description of a person, place, thing, or idea • Expository: gives information or explains something • Narrative: tells a true or fictional story • Persuasive: expresses an opinion and tries to convince others that this opinion is correct